Journalist and part-time shepherd Tim Metcalfe on the impact of flooding

Water, water, everywhere. And not much pasture for sheep to graze. Watching the flood waters rise over our field adjacent to the Thames last week was worrying. As the pasture nearest the river vanished under water, I began to wonder if we would have to move them elsewhere but, fortunately, the weather gods relented. Just in time really.

Luckily our field did not flood completely so I was able to develop a new flood routine with our flock, splitting the sheep into two groups of almost equal numbers. One group would stay in a nice dry barn during the day, coming out at dusk to graze, while the others did the opposite – in at night, out during the day. It has worked well so far but means our supply of hay is dwindling quickly. It does mean that they keep their feet – which can be susceptible to nasty conditions like foot rot – nice and dry for at least some of the day.

Our chickens also survived the floods – the water stopped rising before it could reach their runs, which we filled with straw to help them keep their feet dry.

Sheep do not really like standing water, especially when it has turned their home into a mini-lake. They tend to avoid it at all costs, and sometimes will not cross big puddles. They look as if they expect you to quickly knock up a footbridge for them. I find the old faithful bucket of food helps to get them moving across the water. Even then, they tread very daintily, like supermodels on a catwalk. This is the second year in a row that we have experienced serious flooding in winter – so it looks as if such deluges are going to become a regular occurrence in Oxfordshire.

It makes managing livestock difficult, and much harder work even without a river on your doorstep. And winter has only just begun!

If it is difficult for me I can’t imagine how hard life gets for proper farmers across our waterlogged county. Just transporting winter fodder to livestock becomes a huge chore, even on the small scale I operate on. Then there are the parasites, left behind by the receding floods, to consider. I shall have to treat my flock with a special drench to combat these over the coming weeks.

Wading around in the mud certainly made me consider once again the necessity for a bit more hard-standing about the place. A project for the dryer months ahead I think.

Once the waters have subsided I will be faced with the problem of what to do with Percy and Valentine. As I’ve mentioned before they don’t get on, but we need to move Percy away from the ewes in preparation for lambing in the spring.

I was hoping they would be happy to share a field, but previous experience leads me to believe that this won’t work. This is a quandary that I am not quite sure how to solve just yet. I’m working on it... watch this space.